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Experts are waiting to see how the effects will pan out – and are wondering if it will escalate as temperatures continue to soar, according to the Guardian. They’re now working to waterproof the massive tunnel, create trenches that will channel excess water away

‘It was not in our plans to think that the permafrost would not be there and that it would experience extreme weather like that,’ Hege Njaa Aschim, from the Norwegian government, which owns the vault, told The Guardian.

‘A lot of water went into the start of the tunnel and then it froze to ice, so it was like a glacier when you went in.’

This year’s unprecedented winter temperatures came on the heels of the hottest year on record.

And, with rising temperatures came above-average melting and rainfall.

The vault is situated on the island of Spitsbergen, in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, and opened nearly a decade ago

While the flooding didn’t reach the vault itself – meaning the seeds are so far unharmed – the breach has caused experts to question how climate change will affect the stronghold’s long-term survival

Now, experts are waiting to see how the effects will pan out – and are wondering if it will escalate as temperatures continue to soar, according to the Guardian.

They’re now working to waterproof the massive tunnel, create trenches that will channel excess water away, and install flood pumps.

In addition to bringing in thousands of new seeds this past winter, experts recently opened a second ‘Doomsday Vault’ in order to save the world’s books.

The precious books will be stored in digital form, allowing them to survive the most extreme conditions, including nuclear war.

The vault, which is called the World Arctic Archive, is also based in Svalbard.